Strategies to Grow Your Business

The Bitterness of Poor Workmanship

Measuring twice may have helped. But going with the cheapest option could also be an expensive mistake.

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” ~ Red Adair

“In every area of life there is a cheaper alternative but don’t forget the bitterness of poor workmanship stays long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Have you ever had to play cleanup on someone else’s work? I am talking about coming in after an amateur and reworking what they have done and applying your own knowledge and expertise. It would have been easier to start with your professional grade work in the first place. But for one reason or another (cheapness, naivete, pride, control) the quality of work suffered.

Furthermore, experts can move quickly because they have seen a problem repeatedly. They see the problem differently than amateurs. They can understand the nuances that will work or what will connect with others. There’s been enough empirical evidence built up to inform them.

When things are not repeatable, which is common for much of the work we do, remember that what Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.”